| Kickstands Up |
| Get Out And Ride |
I’ll be off the grid starting 9/3 – 9/6. I’ll have my Spot Tracker with me up and running.. If you’re so inclined you can follow me via my tracking page. I promise when I get back I’ll do a trip report and post pics in a coherent fashion 
Back in a few days!!
I’ve never been a real fan of bikes like those built by OCC. Don’t get me wrong they are awesome machines and I’ve seen one in person and they truly are art..But I don’t want to pay that much for a bike that I’d honestly be afraid to take out..
I found a site a few years back after the Discovery show “Biker Build-off” when they had a British bike builder named Russell Mitchell. He owns Exile Cycles. As he said on one of the shows he said to a guy that he could have any color bike as long as it was black. Every bike he builds is extremely clean and has a very industrial look to it. All the controls are usually hidden in the handlebars and the front/rear tires are ridiculously huge..I’m a fan..My bike now has a 150 front and 240 rear and I’ll never go back to skinnier tires..
I asked myself what would be a dream bike for me? Only one came to mind..Meet “Fat Bloke”
Ready to paint this bike goes for 30k…Ready to ride is 50k…If I had the money there would be a pic of a Fat Bloke with yours truly on it 
. More pics can be found at Exile Cycles
This is every Red Hat office in NA…I think I could make the trip…Now to try and get management buy-in 
So I’m really enjoying my new camera…If you head over to my Smugmug account you’ll see some of the one’s I’ve been taking.
A few months back (March..But who’s counting :-/) I ordered a new helmet through the local motorcycle dealership…I bought my bike from them and have had nothing but good experiences with them…The helmet is from Vega and the only reason I wanted it was because it had built-in Bluetooth so I could link my phone to it and listen to music without having wired headphones.
So that’s exactly it…Flat black and all…So after repeated hold ups with the helmets delayed by Vega and then getting held up in customs I get a call last week saying the helmets were in…Only problem is I ordered an XXL, flat black helmet..The guy from the dealership said he had in an XL silver one…*sigh*
So fast forward to today and I decided to swing by and see if the flat black on had come in…Still nothing…But he did have a silver XXL…Awesome! I can at least try it on and test the sound…Low and behold I put it on and it’s so damn tight that I can’t even get my glasses back on…Apparently Vega’s XXL is only a L in real people sizes…
Long post I know but I’m pretty damn bummed about it…After all the waiting and checking and more waiting I have to start from scratch..The dealership had no more helmets with built-in Bluetooth and I’ve found some online but that’s going to be a pretty big leap of faith to buy without trying it out…I guess I just need to make sure they have a sane return policy.
Speaking of return policy and totally off topic..I picked up a new pair of riding boots a few weeks back..Made by Alpinestars with no laces and only going a bit above my ankle…I actually really liked them and was in the process of breaking in. Then the side zipper came off it’s track after only wearing them for a week 
.
I just returned them Friday so I’m on the look out for new boots as well. Seems my luck with gear lately is not good . However I do recommend Motorcycle Superstore for all your motorcycle gear needs..They were on top of things for the return.
Hears hoping that things turn around b/c I really don’t like returning things..Especially online purchase since it’s usually such a hassle. I’ve got a new post coming soon about a quick trip I took to Pilot Mtn/Mt. Airy NC a few weeks back..I meant to put it up when I got back but got distracted. There were some really awesome mountain roads there..
Not much going on as far as travelling atm…And honestly I don’t really like riding in this heat..Since I wear jacket, gloves, full face, and boots everytime I get on the bike it can get a bit warm…Also been busy with work and life…I have recently upgraded my digital camera from a Nikon point and shoot to a Canon Digital Rebel XT. It was actually Kate’s old camera and she upgraded to Nikon D60.
I’ve really enjoyed messing around with the camera..So much so that I’ve setup a couple of online galleries to put these photos in…I still have my hosted gallery but honestly I’m getting tired of keeping it running…I’ll keep it going but I probably won’t add anything new to it.
The galleries:
Smug Mug – I only have a 14 day trial atm but I’ll probably go ahead and get a year which is usually 39 bucks but I used a coupon from another site I frequent and got 5 bucks off it if I choose to get a member ship. These are mostly just random shots I’ve been taking lately.
Anyone want to spin up a new motorcycle related theme for this site? The one that I’m using is horribly coded and, well, broken…I’m not artistic enough to come up with something but I’d be willing to pay a moderate fee to get something…Here’s hoping
Yup…Out of the country for a week…I was hoping to have some pics up but I forgot my transfer cable at home and my iPhone is currently in airplane mode since I got a text from ATT when we landed saying that my calling plan didn’t apply and it would be $19.97 per MB for data..So yea…Phone is disabled atm..I will be uploading some pics from my iPhone later
Go fuck yourself…I’m sick and tired of society waiting for the government to “save them” or the old “protect the kids”..Fuck off…Take responsibility for your kids…Don’t wait for the government to save them. Perfect example..Last night on the news there was a story about banning novelty lighters:
WAH!! I’m inept and need the state to tell me no
Are.You.Fucking.Kidding.Me.
Last month, Goodwin said a child playing with a novelty lighter started a fire at a Jamestown, NC convenience store.
“Thankfully no one was hurt, but I’m concerned that if this bill is not made law, someone will get hurt next time,” said Goodwin.
***SIGH***
I’m not even a parent but I think that if you *talk* to your spawn and tell them that playing with lighters/matches/fire is dangerous and then if you catch them still playing with fire BEAT THEIR ASS!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!
I don’t want the state or federal government telling me that I can’t buy a lighter that looks like Nemo if I want because you can’t control your spawn…
And that brings me to gun control…Seriously…Banning assault rifles will not stop them…More legislation red tape will not stop criminals WHO BY THE VERY NATURE OF BEING A CRIMINAL ARE NOT GOING TO LEGALLY OBTAIN A GUN! All that red tape is going to do is make it harder for tax paying, law abiding citizens to buy guns…Why is this so difficult to understand?? I’m all for background checks but to take it further than that I’m opposed…In North Carolina I had to get a background check and then I was *allowed* to get permits for 5 handguns. I don’t plan on buying all 5 but why am I limited??
Yes, I’m aware this is about motorcycles…If you don’t like it fuck off…I’m in a bad mood because people have no personal responsibility and now they’re expecting the state/federal government to raise they damn kids…I do have an idea of how to fix this but it will never happen…Remove every single warning label from everything…Let nature take it’s course..That’s not politically correct but that’s the way it would be if I ruled the world…So take your politically correct nanny state and shove it up your ass…
Before
After
